Justice for Egypt?

An Egyptian court has convicted the once-feared former interior minister on charges of corruption and money laundering. The court in Cairo on Thursday sentenced Habib al-Adly to 12 years in jail. It was the first trial of an official from the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak since the former leader was overthrown in February.

Adly is separately facing charges that he had ordered the deadly use of live ammunition against unarmed protesters during the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak. If convicted, he would face the death penalty.

Not only Adly has been made accountable for his role in the deadly shootings of demonstrators during the mass protests against the former regime. The 82-year-old Mubarak is also faced with this accusation. He is allegedly responsible for the deaths of over 800 protestors.

The public prosecutor had in fact ordered that Mubarak be taken into custody. The former leader did not land in jail, though, but rather in a hospital due to his poor state of health - in Sharm el-Sheikh near his family's holiday residence.

Judicial challenges

Many Egyptians would like to see their former president Mubarak made accountable for his actions before a court. Already weeks ago, thousands of citizens gathered in Cairo's famous Tahrir Square to voice their demands.

Generals and the justice system heard their call. Some three months after he was toppled, the public prosecutor has taken up an investigation against Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa for charges including corruption and abuse of power.

In the case of a trial, Mubarak could even face the death sentence. It still belongs to the penalties possible in the post-revolution era. But the realization of a fair and independent trial is still anything but simple.

On the one hand, the judicial system is confronted with public pressure, outrage and a thirst for revenge within the population. On the other hand, observers assume that influential forces of the old regime are persistently looking to hinder a too detailed reappraisal of the Mubarak era. They themselves could be threatened by any revelations, after all. In addition, Mubarak can only be sentenced according to laws already put in place during his authoritarian rule.

"Of course, it's difficult for everything to take place so quickly and efficiently," said Sonja Hegasy from the Berlin-based research institute Zentrum Moderner Orient. "The introduction of the rule of law cannot occur overnight and this is also the case for the proceedings against the Mubarak family."

According to Hegasy, a case will require a long process to gather evidence and prepare sufficiently.

"It is very important that the trial is afterwards assessed as having been fair and independent," she said.

Power of the military

The mood in the population could, however, make such a time-consuming procedure difficult. Mubarak remains for many Egyptians a controversial figure, even after his overthrow.

In addition to the deadly actions of his security forces against peaceful demonstrators, many are indignant about reports that the Mubarak family managed to safely get their total assets worth some $70 billion (48 billion euros) abroad. In comparison: 40 percent of Egyptians still have to get by with less than $2 a day.

Mubarak himself denies owning any bank accounts, real estate or other assets abroad. Hegasy said the Egyptian judiciary will be dependent on the cooperation of international companies and banks if it wants to succeed in convicting him of self-enrichment.

Some experts doubt that it will even come to a trial against Mubarak. Stephan Roll from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs said Mubarak's poor health could be used as a suitable pretense for eventually suspending the case completely.

There is no sure knowledge on just how ill Mubarak really is. Rumors of his imminent death already existed during his time in office. According to Egyptian media reports, the former president suffers from pancreatic cancer and serious heart problems.

"I think that loyal networks in the military continue to be in place," Roll said. "Even if their voices have become very quiet in Egypt, there are still enough influential people of the old elite who are not interested in seeing Mubarak actually being humiliated by being dragged before a court."

On the other hand, Roll said he expected Mubarak's sons to face a trial and be sentenced. This would have a symbolic character. Roll said he saw "strong indications" that the two were in fact involved in economic intrigues.

"In the beginning voices in the military leadership were dominating that said we'll try to get one or two scapegoats in order to calm the situation," he said. "But I have the impression that now there are people who are pushing for a reasonably in-depth reappraisal of the old regime."

Roll said it shouldn't be underestimated that many voices already existed in the medium-level officers' corps critical of the economic doings of the presidential family.

"I think there is by all means a certain amount of pressure in place to deal with these things," he said.

Author: Chamselassil Ayari / sac
Editor: Rob Mudge